Second baseman Jeff McNeil has a low-grade oblique strain and will miss the start of the regular season, manager Carlos Mendoza announced Thursday. McNeil will be shut down 7-10 days and the Mets expect him to miss 3-4 weeks overall.

McNeil is expected to miss at least three to four weeks. Nearly 20 percent of New York's expected Opening Day roster is injured.

In a vacuum, Jeff McNeil’s injury is “a minor hiccup,” as the second baseman put it -- an unfortunate case of a right oblique strain with two weeks to go until Opening Day. It should not sideline McNeil past mid-April.